IBM recently unveiled a division of PWIN (PartnerWorld Industry Networks) for ISVs building solutions in the Travel and Transportation vertical, bring to 15 the number of verticals it supports with development and marketing resources.

The program will be the primary touch point for ISVs and IBM to deliver sales and marketing support tailored for the vertical as well as a connection to IBM's research and development teams for ISVs with travel and transportation expertise and solutions, part of the tech giant's Innovation That Matters initiative, executives said.

The arrangement strengthens the investment for both parties, said Buell Duncan, IBM's General Manager of Developer Relations in IBM Software Group.

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"It is an aligning of resources by industry with partners who go to market in that industry to customers who are interested in people who know their industry," Duncan said.

"It's fair to say, that if you start with the customer first and think about how does the client think of their business need, it's always in the context of the industry and the segment they exist in," he said.

"They are looking for those who understand their biz and not coming into it for the first time."

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IBM expects the new vertical to produce industry-targeted applications for supply chain management, customer relationship management and logistics management for such industries as ocean shipping, rail freight and airlines, executives said.

ISVs will be connected to researchers, many at IBM's Zurich, Switzerland, laboratories, already working on applications and solutions in those areas, one executive said.

The vertical will also funnel a portion of the $1 billion IBM spends on joint sales and marketing for ISVs to those partners.

Partners benefit from industry-tailored and industry-targeted direct mail, telemarketing and advertising resources, some boosting lead generation by as much as four times the industry average, according to an IBM statement.

Most ISVs work across several of PWIN's verticals, and many demonstrated a need for a travel and transportation vertical to develop and bring solutions to market, Duncan said.

He expects the vertical's ranks to reach several hundred within 30 days. More than 10,000 ISVs have joined PWIN since its inception, 4,200 in the banking and finance vertical alone, according to IBM.